How to convince my wife to get a Model 3?

[timk225]

I think this question is easily answered. Who earns the money in the house? That person decides.

I've been married a little over 2 years. I didn't ask my wife when I bought my Challenger R/T, and I didn't ask my wife when I went and got my Model 3 reservation on the first day. It's MY MONEY, I'll buy whatever car I want (that I can afford).

 

[ccutrer]

While I agree with the rest of your post, I do not agree in this. It's not like that the hole family will have to stay in the car the hole time it's charging, like you may do when filling an ICE car. You park, plug in, take the family out of the car. Kids may move around, and thereby reducing the stress of a long trip, smaller kids may get changing diapers, older may get into the restroom and everybody can get some food. Don't see it as a stress factor but a required break that can easy up the trip. As I see it there will be less of a problem with small kids on a long trip with superchargers then in an ICE car.

But yes, if the need of the family is to get a new and bigger people transporter Model 3 may not be the right answer yet.

Speaking as a family with four young kids (7, 5, 3, 1), and driving a Tesla, and having gone on several road trips... it has its ups and downs. For the most part, it is very nice to have specified stopping points for potty breaks, stretching legs, eating, etc. But sometimes I really wish I could just leave the baby sleeping, or I wish I could skip the additional routine of dropping my wife and the kids off somewhere before I go to charge, then trekking over to them, then reversing that (instead, just having kids that could be patient for 20 minutes while we charge would be great).

 

[ccutrer]

I have told her all those things. I think one of her biggest hang ups is winter driving and the closest service center for me is Eden Prairie MN. I explained to her about the traction control being remarkable and that there are people in other countries who have crazy winters and only have RWD Tesla vehicles.

LOL!!! If she's thinking she'll get better traction in a minivan than anything else, I'll take some videos next winter of all the minivans in my neighborhood that can't make it home in the winter. And I'll bet your winters are worse than mine.

In terms of driving (performance, maneuverability, visibility, etc.) , a minivan will definitely be a step down from an Equinox (disclaimer: I've never driven an Equinox, but I have driven lots of different sizes of other SUVs and several minivans). A Model 3 will be a huge step up. A PHEV Pacifica... I dunno, haven't driven one. But yeah, with small kids, minivans have much more utility than a sedan (and possibly an SUV, depending on which SUV you get, and what kinds of activities your family does). But again... if it's your car, not the family car, maybe those shouldn't be the priorities. And if you're in the habit of you always getting the hand-me-down of the old family car, maybe you should have a talk with your wife and discuss the priorities and practicalities of doing this. Getting the "right" car for the purpose, and taking turns getting new cars might be a better overall solution.

 

[ccutrer]

I think this question is easily answered. Who earns the money in the house? That person decides.

I've been married a little over 2 years. I didn't ask my wife when I bought my Challenger R/T, and I didn't ask my wife when I went and got my Model 3 reservation on the first day. It's MY MONEY, I'll buy whatever car I want (that I can afford).

2 years eh? I hope you make it longer. I know my marriage would have fallen apart years and years ago if I had that attitude.

 

[garsh]

And if you're in the habit of you always getting the hand-me-down of the old family car, maybe you should have a talk with your wife and discuss the priorities and practicalities of doing this.

I had always done this as well. I finally broke that pattern when I bought the Leaf, and I'm going to break it yet again when I get the Model 3. I promised her that we'd replace her minivan after that, pinky-promise and all of that.

 

[tsla007]

@182-omg I never read it like that. lol. hilarious.
I should have said 'make her test drive the car'. my bad. *blushing*

 

[dsvick]

I think this question is easily answered. Who earns the money in the house? That person decides.

I've been married a little over 2 years. I didn't ask my wife when I bought my Challenger R/T, and I didn't ask my wife when I went and got my Model 3 reservation on the first day. It's MY MONEY, I'll buy whatever car I want (that I can afford).

Wow, I bet she even lets you keep your caveman club in the front hall so you can sling it over your shoulder when you leave for work in the morning.

 

[gavine]

I think this question is easily answered. Who earns the money in the house? That person decides.

I've been married a little over 2 years. I didn't ask my wife when I bought my Challenger R/T, and I didn't ask my wife when I went and got my Model 3 reservation on the first day. It's MY MONEY, I'll buy whatever car I want (that I can afford).

My parents are like that. My Mom had to borrow money from my Dad to get a dental procedure done. She's paying him back in installments. And yes, they are still together after 51 years of marriage.

 

[Dp7-81]

So last night we got some snow and rain. It was slushy on the way to work. My wife saw a Model S 60D on the way to work. There was a Fwd van behind the Tesla, my wife said the Tesla was just zipping along and the van was struggling. She was very impressed how the Tesla handled the road conditions.

 

[shrspeedblade]

She'll be even more impressed when she drives one.

 

[sg021]

So last night we got some snow and rain. It was slushy on the way to work. My wife saw a Model S 60D on the way to work. There was a Fwd van behind the Tesla, my wife said the Tesla was just zipping along and the van was struggling. She was very impressed how the Tesla handled the road conditions.

The hill I live on is pretty tough when there's snow. The only vehicles I've seen get stuck are minivans, rear wheel drive cars, and myself once in the old Passat.

As others have stated for their families, we also have a 7 seat suv for family trips, which is mine, and a smaller mainly commuting car. We have two young children and plan on another. My wife was uncomfortable with a large car. We agreed a smaller suv or maybe a model 3 is fine for a car that will never leave the metro area with a full load of family. We bother with two barges if you're don't need to?

Far away service center is a difficult hurdle. One of the reasons she's switching is that the two non-Tesla brand dealers we're considering are a few minutes from where we work instead of 15-20 minutes in a direction we rarely travel. Service interval on her car is only 5k miles, so we can cut our service trips in half with a new car as many ICEs are 10k intervals now.

She is somewhat resistant to a Tesla, and I'm not pushing the issue. Wait until you can test drive and let it speak for itself.

 

[ccutrer]

So last night we got some snow and rain. It was slushy on the way to work. My wife saw a Model S 60D on the way to work. There was a Fwd van behind the Tesla, my wife said the Tesla was just zipping along and the van was struggling. She was very impressed how the Tesla handled the road conditions.

Definitely. Rock solid. Tesla has amazing traction control, made possible by being able to adjust torque at sub-second levels. Being relatively heavy, low center of gravity, and almost perfect weight distribution also all contribute to it. Add snow tires to the mix, and maybe you'll slip on a sheet of pure ice. Maybe.

 

[Dp7-81]

Update: yesterday 12/30/2017 we reserved a Model 3!

 

[Nuclear Fusion]

Does she have abandonment issues?

If so, threaten to leave.

Thank you kindly

 

[Dp7-81]

Does she have abandonment issues?

If so, threaten to leave.

Thank you kindly

What does that have to do with anything that I've posted?

 

[llngoc]

Great to hear that!!! I was going to suggest to take her to test drive a Model S or X. Before we got the first Model S, my wife had insisted that we need a 7 seat SUV like a MBZ GL class. And we went to dinner one day and walked by the Tesla showroom, setup a test drive appointment just to keep me happy that evening and the rest is history. Now she proclaimed that she'd only drive a Tesla and will not even drive the other cars in the garage. (Both are Porsches ) And whenever we got a non-Tesla loaner, she will try everything she can do to get our Tesla back ASAP...

I am sure your wife will be converted once you have the car.

Update: yesterday 12/30/2017 we reserved a Model 3!

 

[SageBrush]

I think this question is easily answered. Who earns the money in the house? That person decides.

I've been married a little over 2 years. I didn't ask my wife when I bought my Challenger R/T, and I didn't ask my wife when I went and got my Model 3 reservation on the first day. It's MY MONEY, I'll buy whatever car I want (that I can afford).

You are well on your way to a divorce. You get to pay for that , too.

 

[SMAlset]

Update: yesterday 12/30/2017 we reserved a Model 3!

Been enjoying reading this thread especially from a female perspective. Some great catches for husbands on here. Congrats on reserving the Model 3. You guys have a bit of a wait and by then likely you'll have a Tesla service center nearer you and more supercharging and destination charging as well.

I really love our Model S but am excitedly awaiting our Model 3 invite. The car is suppose to be for me but I've already heard my husband make a few comments about how maybe he'll drive it. He let me pick the color for our MS and wants me to pick the color on the Model 3 as well. Now he did surprise me on 12/31 last year by telling me he had ordered the MS (I knew he had been talking about getting one for a number of years) but then insisted I go into the store to configure it how ever I liked before we finalized the order. Probably to soften the blow of not being consulted. I initially was a bit hesitant but was completely won over once I started driving our Telsa, and chances are your wife will be a Telsa fan when she gets the chance to drive one. The Model 3 is sounding like a fun car to drive.

I looked up your area on the Tesla charging map and I see you already have Destination charging at the Hotel Marshfield that is listed available to the public. Also looks like a decent number of Superchargers in major areas around there with several on the horizon for 2018 so she'll have a number of options if she has to run errands and finds herself in need of a charge. We participated in an EV event this summer and running out of charge seemed to be the major fear of some of the women I spoke with.

 

[LCR1]

If it's your car getting replaced why are you even asking?

 

[LCR1]

You are well on your way to a divorce. You get to pay for that , too.

Or smart enough to marry the right woman in the first place. I'll be damned if someone is going to dictate how my extra money is spent.